May 2016 three friends joined me on a 3-week self-directed tour of Sicily. What a great place filled not only with Italian history, but the largest collection of Greek architecture outside of Greece. Landscapes were dry and rugged. Churches ranged from medieval to Baroque; museums documented their rich past. The people were very friendly and helpful especially when we were lost or needed advice.

When we returned our Peugeot rental car in Palermo, the man checking for damage walked around and around the car. Threw his hands up and said, “Impossible, impossible! No damage!!!” Guess he was to surprised 4 US women could survive 3 weeks driving in Sicily without any car damage. Of course, most Sicilian city streets were never designed for cars. Our car’s GPS was a tremendous help for navigating roundabout intersections. Not speaking Italian was another challenge. We learned quickly that being lost was the norm, but it was all part of the “travel adventure”.

After returning home I created a few paintings from several of my favorite places:

Fall 2016 my husband, Rick and I drove to North Carolina to see the fall leaves. Unfortunately, we also got a preview of the smoke from wild fires that filled the mountain valleys with smoke that later took over large areas around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN devastating parts of those communities.

May 2015 I enjoyed a fun filled trip to the Big Apple with several artist friends. We saw plays every night, ate delicious food, and went to as many art museums as possible. My favorite play was “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”

During the fall my husband and I traveled to Colorado and experienced the chilling winds and vast vistas from Pike’s Peak outside Colorado Springs. Afterwards, we traveled south to Santa Fe to visit friends, explore the art scene and hike the nearby Galiesteo Basin Preserve. So far, no paintings have evolved from that year’s experiences even though I took a huge amount of pictures. No telling where or when they will appear.

Art wise, March 2015 started out with a real bang. Two of my paintings were submitted and accepted into the “Kaleidoscope 2015: Exploring the many facets of art” juried competition at Art and Antiques Studio Fine Arts Gallery in Melbourne. My painting Swamp Voices won Best of Show!

Interested in prices, email me at dillenart@earthlink.net. Want to visit the gallery? Go to Art and Antique Studio and Fine Art Gallery’s webpage: http://www.artandantiquestudio.com to get directions and business hours.

2014 flew by with days filled with travels around the country and abroad. January through early March I made 3 trips to my hometown, Quincy, FL for a two-person exhibit at the Gadsden Art Center with Liu Nan, Tallahassee artist. There we were warmly received. While there Fish Dreams sold to an anonymous collector from California making my day.

Back in the studio, I worked on several new paintings: Farm Memories and Golden Eye. Each was inspired by local friends and kayaking experiences.

In May, artist and traveling friend, Susan Martin and I spent 23 days in Portugal and Spain. Fifteen days were part of a tour through the Iberian Peninsula where we stayed in Spanish paradores and Portuguese pousadas, medieval monasteries, historic fortresses, and stately palaces.

Always inspired by the open landscape, Portugal and Spain offered cork tree and olive groves. The rolling terrain ranged from fields of intense reds, greens, and yellows to earthy, muted browns. Blurring flowering bushes hugged the roadways yielding to deep eroded ravines, curving roads, snow topped mountains, and vast plains spotted with grazing sheep, bulls or donkeys, windmills, castle relics, farmhouses, and distant villages. Each twist in the road heightened my expectations for what was coming next. Using colored pencils on the pages of my small sketchbook I quickly grabbed snippets of sites that I saw and created narrative impressions of fleeting memories. As a result, several traveling companions watched me work and liked my sketches. Two requested paintings. I was so inspired by the colors and spontaneity of mark that I couldn’t stop painting. I realize I have enough material to continue painting from my sketches and photos for a very long time.

This fall, Rick and I flew to Las Vegas, rented a car and drove to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, and Red Rock Canyon. Now, I’m so inspired I can’t wait to finish the paintings I’m doing and get into a new “on the road” memory painting series.

If anyone is interested in prices on these paintings or others, please email me at dillenart@earthlink.net and I will get back with you promptly.

2013 was a full year of art and travels. Time was spent preparing for a two-person show that will be featured at the Gadsden Art Center in my hometown of Quincy, FL in January 10-March 8, 2014. I also completed several paintings: Time Steps, Swamp Voices, and Dame Baybean.

In April and May my friend Susan Martin and I went to Europe for three weeks. There we visited five major cities: Luxembourg, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Stuttgart. The main reason for going was Susan’s invitation to display three of her paintings in the Luxembourg Biennale, a very prestigious show.

Each city presented new adventures in traveling and unexpected learning experiences that we will never forget. Back home, my painting Fish Dreams received 3rdplace in the Nature Category and was displayed in the Strawbridge Art League’s Juried invitational show VIVA 500 that traveled to three sites: Melbourne Beach Library, Cocoa Beach Library, and Orlando City Hall’s Terrace Gallery.

September and October four paintings were featured in two national juried shows. “small work-BIG TALENT” was an exhibit at Las Laguna Gallery, 815 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA from September 7 – 28. The gallery received hundreds of image submissions. Eighty-eight artists’ works were selected for display. A quote from the gallery by Van Gogh states, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Colonel Wiener and Ensign Billiewere my featured paintings. Both are 10” x 10” oil paintings.

“Animal Other” was the theme for the exhibit at the Shemer Art Center, 5005 E. Camelback Road in Phoenix, AZ. Dates: September 12- October 17. Guest curator, Ally Glowacki, posed the following questions: Is there a point where animal ends and human begins? Western philosophy suggests that the being known as “Animal” is forever positioned on the complete opposite side of the divide; a divide that reassures “Man” as superior. But, is that divide permeable? Nonhuman animals, especially those species that interact with us, such as domesticated dogs, transcend that divide on a daily basis. Not human and no longer just animal, these species occupy a new type of existence referred to as “Animal Other.” Ready to Play? and Billie Blue were featured in this show. Both are oil paintings on canvas 12” x 12”. Two prizes were given. Ready to Play? won the First Place award. I traveled to Phoenix to attend the opening and visit friends. Curator, Ally Glowacki said that Ready to Play? epitomized the essence of the concept of show’s theme.

November through December, Susan Martin and I were among 100 artists included in the “National Invitational of Fine Art, Craft and Design” at the Dunedin Fine Art Center. The work will be on display through December 23, 2013. Where: Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 Michigan Blvd, Dunedin, FL https://www.dfac.org.

In addition to creating my own artwork, I have been helping the Eau Gallie Arts District Main Street Design and Mural Committees with a couple of major projects. We are finalizing the design for new “Wayfinding” street signs, as well as planning the sixth and largest mural to date painted on the south wall of Maxine’s Salon and Spa. The muralist is nationally known Andrew Spear who lives in Orlando, FL. The mural “Look Around You”, will be completed the weekend of November 23 & 24th. Here is a detail of what has been completed.

December 6-28th my painting Ottersea will be displayed at Las Laguna Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, CA. It is one of 50 paintings by 35 artists accepted into their theme show “Animal Fairy Tales, Fables, Fact or Fiction”. According to the gallery’s website:

Throughout the history of the world in cultures near and far, animals have played a huge part in the world of art. From the beginning of time when man first scrawled a buffalo on cave walls to the present time; animals are characterized and depicted in stories, cartoons and movies. The rich history of animals represented in mythologies and folktales is endless. These animals awaken our creative spirit and feed our imagination. From the years of the zodiac to the spirits of totem poles animals and animal icons play a huge part in our everyday life.

For more information about the exhibit, go to the Las Laguna Art Gallery website: http://www.laslagunagallery.com and select current exhibit to see my painting. I think you will agree with me that this would be a fun show to see.

Frieda Kahlo once said, “I don’t paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.” Here is hoping that our future brings us many more new and surprising visual realities. Keep imagining and creating!

Well, it has taken a couple of years, but I finally revised my website. Thanks to McBride Marketing Group located in Melbourne, FL I have a new website. Periodically, I will update you with my latest paintings, art happenings, and topics of interest.

This fall has been very rewarding. In August I taught a Drawing and Figure Drawing class at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. I love going there to take classes and/or teach. I have either taken classes or taught there since 1982. What a great place for renewal, inspiration and stimulation!

September, Rick and I traveled to Shawnee, OK to celebrate with artist friends Fran Hardy and Bob Demboski, creators of “Earth Chronicles Project, The Arist’s Process:Oklahoma” and Dane Pollei, director of the Mabee-Gerrer Art Museum the opening of an exhibit Fran curated and the debut of their PBS documentary. Check out Fran’s blog and see how their documentary series is developing at: http://earthchroniclesproject.blogspot.com/

October and November I taught drawing for three days to Delia Lancaster’s 7th and 8th grade art classes at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Palm Bay. The invitation to teach was based on a Target grant she received to bring in “real” artists to work with her students in various forms of art. Each day I taught the students a variety of drawing techniques and concepts like gesture, positive and negative shapes, and contour line drawing with edge shading. The students enjoyed the new ways of seeing everyday objects and their work reflected their discoveries. Click on this link to a pdf of the school’s newsletter, and you will find an article about me on page 3, and photos of the students’ work on page 9. https://dillenart.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/November-2012.pdf

Mid November, my oil painting Blackberry Winter was included in the 3rd AnnualJuried Exhibition at the Florida Museum for Women Artists in DeLand, FL. The work will be on display through January 12, 2013. The museum’s website has the juror’s statement and examples of work displayed. Join me from 1-3 p.m on Saturday, December 1st when a gallery talk will be presented. Plus, there is nothing like seeing the work in person. Road trip anyone! http://www.floridamuseumforwomenartists.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions-2/

Another totally different surprise… Rick and I were asked to be a part of an advertisement promoting a new “senior resort” Victoria’s Landing opening in May, 2013 in the Eau Gallie area. Check it out, but don’t blink the first few seconds. You might miss us!